Advanced Arabic through Discussion Reviews

Drawing on her years of experience as an Arabic instructor and course developer, Samia Louis has used a functional approach to create a bright, innovative coursebook for the study of Egyptian colloquial Arabic—the spoken dialect most frequently studied and most widely understood in the Arab world. Designed according to the ACTFL guidelines for teaching Arabic as a foreign language, Kallimni ‘Arabi trains students through ten highly structured lessons in the crucial skills, with particular emphasis on listening and speaking. The associated audio files carry recordings of the dialogues and exercises in each chapter, made by Egyptian native speakers. Click here to listen to the modules on Soundcloud.
From the basics of communicating (asking directions, the language of shopping) to more advanced conversations (future plans, hobbies, and free time), Kallimni ‘Arabi is structured so that students learn Egyptian Arabic using real-life situations and expressions. The key topics covered gradually lead students to understand, use, and speak Arabic, rather than simply memorize fixed phrases. Kallimni ‘Arabi is aimed at students with some ability to read and write Arabic, who have had the equivalent of 30 hours of a beginner Colloquial Arabic class or 40 hours of a Modern Standard Arabic program.

This grammar book is intended for intermediate learners of Modern Standard Arabic. It covers the main points that they need to master at this level to prepare them for the next level of proficiency. Each lesson in the book begins with a brief statement and explanation of a grammar rule followed by different types of exercises. The exercise section of the lessons begins with mechanical drills (some of which have illustrations) for practice of the grammar point of the lesson. At the end, there are writing exercises that enable learners to produce the language freely while still requiring them to use the lesson’s grammar. The book is accompanied by a CD with animated PowerPoint presentations illustrating the grammar rules explained in the lessons, and interactive drills. This very practical textbook provides a fine, flexible tool for a grammar-based approach to teaching MSA.